Cochlear implantation helps a 4-year-old congenitally profoundly deaf boy hear and learn to speak

Cochlear implant for congenitally profoundly deaf boy

Ho Chi Minh City Long, 4 years old, was born with profound deafness in both ears. After 6 months of cochlear implantation, he can now hear and is learning to understand sounds.

When Long was 2 years old and still unable to speak, the doctor recorded a hearing threshold of over 90 dB - equivalent to the noise of trucks or heavy industrial machinery. The baby was diagnosed with profound congenital deafness. The doctor prescribed a cochlear implant, but first he needed to wear a hearing aid to have time to stimulate the auditory nerve.

Prof. Dr. Tran Phan Chung Thuy, Director of the Ear, Nose and Throat Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that cochlear implants are highly effective in the "golden" period, under 5 years old. This is the stage where the auditory cortex needs to be stimulated by sound to develop. If there is a prolonged lack of stimulation, this brain area gradually reduces its ability to process sounds.

The baby was invited by Professor Chung Thuy - President of the Vietnam Ear, Nose and Throat Association, to sponsor surgery. Before surgery, MRI images are inserted into the AI-integrated microsurgical system, creating a 3D map of the inner ear structure, helping the doctor accurately determine the path to the cochlea. This support step is necessary when performing cochlear implant surgery on young children because the temporal bone is still thin and not fully formed like in adults, helping to prevent complications affecting the 7th nerve causing facial paralysis.

The team uses the Nucleus SmartNav system to monitor the position and speed of electrode placement, detect abnormalities such as electrode tip bending or misalignment to adjust immediately during surgery, limiting the risk of re-surgery. At the same time, the nerve monitor helps record the electromyographic response of the facial nerve close to the cochlea when drilling to open the bone, preventing complications of facial paralysis.

Postoperatively, the patient recovered well with no complications. A month later, Long activated the external sound processor, and the results were good. Now, more than 6 months old, the baby can hear and is learning to understand speech sounds with the teacher.

Professor Chung Thuy explained that the nature of speech formation is the repetition of what children have heard. If a child cannot hear, even if the larynx is normal, the child still cannot speak. When communication is not possible, language and intelligence do not develop, which can easily lead to abnormal changes in psychology. For children with severe or profound deafness, hearing aids are almost ineffective.

Cochlear implantation is the only method for severely deaf children to hear, thereby learning to speak and communicate. Surgically placing a small electronic device in the inner ear, bypassing damaged cochlear hair cells, converting sound into electrical signals and directly stimulating the auditory nerve helps profoundly deaf children hear, understand and learn to speak.

Uyen Trinh